| Don't Sabotage Your Job Search |
| By
Cindy Kraft, Certified Career Management Coach |
|
| In today's
competitive job market, it is imperative that a job search candidate be
FLEXIBLE, COMPELLING, and VALUABLE. If you consider that an estimated 20
million résumés fly through cyberspace and the traditional mail
system daily, how are you distinguishing yourself from the pack? Job seekers
who rely solely on traditional job search methods tend to stay unemployed
longer than job seekers using more creative and riskier job search
methodologies. |
|
| There are many ways
job seekers sabotage their search efforts. As humans and creatures of habit, we
tend to get in our comfort zone and stay there. The biggest mistake for all of
us is to keep doing the same thing we've been doing - even when we keep getting
the same results - NONE! |
|
| If you are not
getting the kinds of interviews and job offers you feel you should be getting,
perhaps one of these common mistakes is the culprit. |
|
1. Lack of a
clear, and realistic, career focus.
This is a two-fold problem.
Either a job seeker is desperate and "will take anything" and responds to any
job whether he is a fit or not. Or a job seeker doesn't know what he wants to
do and, using a vague me-centered objective, expects that a company can figure
out where he's a fit. |
|
| A clear career goal
that focuses on the value a job seeker brings to an organization is critical to
job search success. Which leads us to Mistake #2. |
|
2. Failure to
identify and quantify marketable skills.
A clear career goal alone
is not enough. An employer looks at a job seeker's "documented track record" in
relation to his bottom line. |
|
| The question a job
seeker needs to answer is "How have my contributions positively impacted my
employer?" Delineating and quantifying those accomplishments, versus a
chronology of your responsibilities, will position you in front of the
competition. |
|
3. Inadequate
marketing documents. (Résumé, cover letter, application, follow
up letters)
Approximately 80% of job applicants are screened out at
the paper stage. Job seekers who fail to understand the power and importance of
compelling marketing documents significantly reduce the chances of making it
through the initial screen and therefore, increase the time they remain
unemployed. |
|
| It is not unusual
for a job seeker to have 20 to 40 interviews before getting "the" job. In order
to get interviews, your marketing documents have to sell you as a valuable
commodity. If you aren't getting interviews, perhaps it is time to take a fresh
look at your paper impression. |
|
4. Poor
references.
How much thought have you put into choosing and
prepping your references? More than 90% of prospective employers do reference
checks. Inadequate and vague responses from your references can kill your job
opportunity, so choose your references wisely and prep them on what you feel is
most important to the prospective position and/or the company. |
|
5. Flunking the
interview.
When you open your mouth, does your foot jump in? A
whopping 90% of interviewees can't answer even the most basic interview
questions with confidence. |
|
| Common sense tells
us that if you want to win the job, you need to ace the interview. Winning the
offer requires thorough research, preparation, and practice - practice -
practice. |
| ### |
Cindy Kraft is a certified career
management coach. She can be reached by phone at 813-655-0658, via email at
cindy@career-management-coach.com,
or through her website at www.career-management-coach.com.
All
rights reserved.© |
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